Farm Blog

2019 has been a year of humility. My wild idea of adding horse power to the farm has been one setback after another. Big Blue the truck proved unreliable, leaving us stranded out in a rainy field. My volunteer on that day never came back. My regular stalwart volunteer left at the cusp of the growing season--she had to go home to Italy, get married, and start her own farm, so I can hardly blame her. One of my horses turned out to be a decade older than advertised. The ot

"You have a child, it just happens to be a farm," said a wise auntie of mine. I've never had a strong urge to produce offspring out of my own body. My mother, despite dropping subtle hints about grandchildren, had to concede that I always played more with my Lego farm set than with baby dolls. Hawthorn Farm fulfills my maternal impulses. I am always taking care of some creature who will die or suffer without my care, which sounds like a pretty motherly state of affairs acc

"Ag worker housing. Better zoning. A local USDA processing plant, and a commercial canning facility." The wishes flew around the farmer's roundtable meeting at the local Grange tonight. For the most part, I kept my mouth shut. Much of what I want to sell is illegal--not unethical, mind you, but illegal. I can't sell my neighbor a frozen rabbit. I can't take bags of popcorn kernels to the market without a processor's license. Hawthorn Farm bulges awkwardly at the edge o